4 Stocks Pushing The Transportation Industry Higher

TheStreet Ratings group would like to highlight 4 stocks pushing the transportation industry higher today, March 19, 2013.

3. As of noon trading, Kirby ( KEX) is up $1.48 (2.0%) to $77.20 on average volume Thus far, 217,419 shares of Kirby exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 371,900 shares. The stock has ranged in price between $76.15-$77.43 after having opened the day at $76.21 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $75.73.

Kirby Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides marine transportation and diesel engine services primarily in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides transportation services for the inland and coastal markets. Kirby has a market cap of $4.4 billion and is part of the services sector. The company has a P/E ratio of 20.6, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 22.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday. Currently there are 8 analysts that rate Kirby a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 3 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates Kirby as a buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, growth in earnings per share, increase in net income and increase in stock price during the past year. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company is trading at a premium valuation based on our review of its current price compared to such things as earnings and book value. Get the full Kirby Ratings Report now.